WW News Service Digest #311
1) Protesters appeal to public as D.C. cops prepare 'wall'
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
2) Denver activists tell Bush: 'Not our president. Not our policies.'
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
3) West Coast dockers refuse to load Italian ship
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
4) Texas court stays Beazley execution
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
5) Milosevic counter-attacks NATO's court
by "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Aug. 30, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
S29, S30--Stop Bush, World Bank, IMF
PROTESTERS APPEAL TO PUBLIC AS COPS PREPARE 'WALL'
By Nancy Mitchell
Washington, DC
The free speech controversy continued this week in
Washington, D.C., as activists formally initiated a legal
and political struggle against the D.C. police over the
right to protest on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 against the Bush
administration and the IMF and World Bank.
On Aug. 20, the Partnership for Civil Justice--on behalf of
the International Action Center (IAC), the Latin American
Solidarity Conference (LASC), 50 Years is Enough, and the
Kwame Ture Work Study Institute and Library--filed for
injunctive relief against the Washington police and federal
agencies.
The legal action is based on the authorities' intent to
refuse march permits to the Sept. 29 protest organizers and
to declare a "no-protest zone" in downtown Washington during
the Sept. 29-30 IMF and World Bank meetings. This zone
includes areas for which protesters already hold permits.
The IAC has called on people to "Surround the White House"
on Saturday, Sept. 29 to beat back the right-wing attacks of
the Bush administration and then march to the IMF and World
Bank meeting.
The Latin American Solidarity Conference has called for an
international day of action against U.S. military and
economic intervention in Latin America and the Caribbean for
the morning of Sept. 29. This rally will then march and join
the "Surround the White House" protest.
On Aug. 17, D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey and the D.C.
police had announced their proposed $38 million security
plan to control the protests, asking for federal assistance
to help cover the expenses. Citing fears of "protester
violence" and "Molotov cocktails," law enforcement has
fostered a campaign of fear and demonization for weeks.
The police announced they are "discussing" plans to set up a
massive exclusion zone to keep protesters out of the area
with two miles of 9.5-foot-high fences and supported on
Jersey Barriers, the tapered concrete barrier used in many
narrow expressway medians. These will block off up to 40
blocks of the city, an area encompassing the IMF and World
Bank buildings, as well as the White House.
The cops' plan calls for 6,000 law enforcement officers and
members of the D.C. National Guard. Hundreds of police will
be recruited from state and local departments in the Eastern
and Southern U.S. to back up this overwhelming show of
force. The police also plan to purchase fire retardant suits
and fire extinguishers with the money.
GROUPS TO FIGHT EXCLUSION ZONE
At a packed press conference Monday morning, organizers and
their lawyers announced that they will fight this latest
maneuver to silence dissent and will challenge the existence
of any exclusion zone.
"Tens of thousands will march on Washington in the tradition
of all people who have historically sought change and social
justice," announced Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-founder of
the Partnership for Civil Justice. "When people are excluded
from decision-making, the only way to make change is to take
to the streets, the sidewalks, the parklands, to make their
voices heard.
"The D.C. police are trying to fence out those voices, those
bodies, those opinions and demands. That's not acceptable,
and it's not going to happen without a fight."
"We challenge the government's proposal of an exclusion
zone, which favors the free speech rights of some and
excludes others," said Carl Messineo, the PCJ's other co-
founder. "This exclusion zone distinguishes people not based
on legality, but based on ideology, on the politics of the
protesters."
The IAC's Larry Holmes condemned the police scare tactics.
"The police have carried out a systematic campaign to
demonize the demonstrators and to try to generate a virtual
hysteria against people coming to Washington, D.C., as well
as thousands from the city itself. Everyday, the police use
more incendiary language than they used the day before."
Holmes challenged reporters to examine media coverage
leading up to the 1963 civil rights march on Washington led
by Dr. Martin Luther King and others, when racist media
hysteria was created to scare people from supporting the
march. "This is not the first time this has happened in
history."
"The specter that's being put forward by the police is that
D.C. is about to descend into civil war," Brian Becker of
the IAC continued. "This tactic is both to provide
themselves a public rationale for their own police violence
and they hope to scare people off from joining the protests.
We stand here to tell our real audience--do not be afraid or
intimidated or allow the shredding of our First Amendment
rights by the police strategy of media demonization and
police violence."
Bob Brown, from the Kwame Ture Work Study Institute and
Library, said his group refused to be relegated to fenced-in
protest pits to voice their struggle. "We have reaffirmed
our determination to fight for our right not to be chained,
fenced, restricted," he said. "We will fight against the
protest pits as we fought against slavery."
THE REAL SOURCE OF VIOLENCE
"Using the excuse of violence and the need for security, the
police are planning to completely disregard our First
Amendment rights," said Cherenne Horazuk, nat-ional
coordinator of the Committee in Solidarity with the People
in El Salvador, which is part of LASC. "We would like to
talk about another kind of violence, however, which is far
more widespread, and far more damaging.
"On Sept. 29, we will march on the streets of D.C. to spread
the word about the structural and direct violence carried
out by the World Bank, the IMF, and the U.S. government
directed against our brothers and sisters in the South."
"The global South has been protesting the IMF and World Bank
for decades," explained Soren Ambrose, of the 50 Years is
Enough Network. He demanded an end to structural adjustment
austerity programs, 100 percent cancellation of the debt of
poor nations, and an end to the environmental devastation
caused by IMF and World Bank projects.
"We want access for the protesters, not just a token
presence, but the full force of thousands who in two years
have woken up around the world. We want them to be there in
their full numbers," Ambrose said.
This latest development in the legal and political battle
generated broad attention from local and national media,
putting the D.C. cops on the defensive, and giving
organizers a step ahead in this public relations struggle
with the state.
Both Mayor Anthony Williams and D.C. Executive Assistant
Police Chief Terence W. Gainer were forced to publicly
address the lawsuit, conceding that the protesters have a
right to protest. Gainer gave a vague excuse that the
permits were still under review.
The IAC had applied for permits in February 2001 for areas
all around the White House, IMF and World Bank. According to
D.C. law, permits are deemed granted if not denied in
writing within 24 hours. That means that these permits have
already been granted.
CSPAN ran the press conference live and continued to repeat
it throughout the evening. Many national papers and wire
services also covered the press conference. Local D.C. media
ran coverage of the lawsuit coupled with previous footage of
protesters being beaten by cops.
STRONG MOMENTUM FOR THE PROTESTS
The level of national media coverage and the organizing on
the ground around the country has helped build strong
momentum for the Sept. 29 protests. "We've had new
volunteers from the Washington, D.C., area responding from
our postering and visibility campaigns, as well as dozens of
supportive calls locally and from people all over the
country who saw the CSPAN coverage and want to join us,"
said Judi Cheng, an organizer in the Washington, D.C., IAC
office. "The mobilization has grown to over 50 organizing
centers across the U.S. and we're expecting that number to
keep growing."
"This struggle is not just about the anti-globalization
protesters, but about workers, unions, communities, those
fighting U.S. militarism in Vieques, those fighting police
brutality, those fighting against all forms of bigotry. It's
about the rights of all people fighting for justice
everywhere to protest," said Larry Holmes of the IAC.
"We're fighting this battle in the courts, but more
importantly, we're fighting it in the court of public
opinion, and we're going to win both of these struggles! The
way people around the country can affirm their right of free
speech is to join the protests on Sept. 29 and 30."
From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: maanantai 27. elokuu 2001 01:27
Subject: [WW] Denver activists tell Bush: 'Not our president. Not our
policies.'
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Aug. 30, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
Denver activists tell Bush:
'NOT OUR PRESIDENT! NOT OUR POLICIES!'
By Elijah Crane
Denver
On Aug. 14, a motorcade of more than 40 cops on motorcycles,
two limousines and several other automobiles made its way
through Denver. Riding in one of the limos was President
George W. Bush. Most of the other passengers were special
agents who serve to "protect" Bush from the people he
supposedly represents as the official leader of the United
States.
The presidential caravan proceeded toward the Adam's Mark
Hotel in downtown Denver. There, Bush would address a $1,000-
a-plate minimum-donation fund raiser for Colorado's
Republican Gov. Bill Owens.
It is not at all ironic that this racist, pro-death, pro-war
villain would patronize the Adam's Mark Hotel, which has
recently settled a two-year court battle over racist
discrimination.
The NAACP picketed in front of this Denver hotel on Aug. 11,
and again on August 14. Protesters drew attention to the
chain's racist practices, which have not changed despite the
settlement's legal mandate to do so.
As Bush made his way to the Republican function several
hundred activists were demonstrating their protest in Civic
Center Park. Members of various community and national
organizations unraveled their banners in preparation for a
march while speakers addressed the anti-Bush rally.
"My union is fighting for general amnesty," Jorge, a janitor
and member of the Service Employees union, told the spirited
crowd. "We fight for the right for our work to be
recognized. We demand a general amnesty for all workers. ...
No human being is illegal."
A representative from the International Action Center and
Rainbow Flags for Mumia spoke on the prison-industrial
complex, the racist death penalty and Mumia Abu-Jamal.
As Bush approached the boycotted Adam's Mark Hotel, marchers
fashioned a two-by-two formation and stepped off into the
streets. Over 300 protestors, including members of Jobs with
Justice, Colorado Hands Off Cuba Coalition, the
Communication Workers union, Colorado Campaign for Middle
East Peace, the International Action Center and Rainbow
Flags for Mumia, as well as a Black Bloc contingent and
others, joined together for the march.
Carrying signs--"Hands Off Cuba!", "Free Palestine!" and
"Jobs with Justice"--and banners--"Free Mumia," "End the
politics of cruelty," and "Bush = Racism"--the protestors
showed strong opposition to Bush and his racist, pro-war
policies.
Chants of "G.W. go home!", "George Bush, we know you, your
father was a killer, too!" and "Racist, sexist, anti-gay,
Bush, Cheney go away!" rang through Denver's downtown
streets.
As the anti-Bush procession journeyed down the 16th Street
Mall--a pedestrian mall where the Adam's Mark is located--
protesters paused at several points to call attention to
local stores and branches of transnational corporations that
are known for sweatshop labor.
Police presence was minimal. No arrests were made. After
several loops around the area, demonstrators positioned
themselves in front of the Adam's Mark shouting, "Si se
puede!", "Who's got the power? We got the power! What kind
of power? People power!" and "Brick by brick, wall by wall,
we're gonna free Mumia Abu-Jamal!" to a background of
enthusiastic drumming by dozens of young activists.
As the demonstrators disbursed, coalition organizers vowed
to meet again to follow up on the rally and continue efforts
to overturn the Bush program.
Many of those present are also organizing for S29--the Sept.
29 protest in Washington at the White House.
From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: maanantai 27. elokuu 2001 01:28
Subject: [WW] West Coast dockers refuse to load Italian ship
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Aug. 30, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
Worker solidarity with Genoa struggle
WEST COAST DOCKERS REFUSE TO LOAD ITALIAN SHIP
By Heather Cottin
Union workers joined protesters in Portland, Ore., on Aug.
16 and Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 18, successfully preventing
an Italian ship, the Cielo di San Francisco, from unloading
its cargo. Protesters and members of the International
Longshore Workers Union (ILWU) in both cities acted in
solidarity against the violent tactics the Italian police
employed during the July 20-22 protests at the G-8 summit in
Genoa.
Protesters in both cities formed picket lines hours before
the ship docked, and dock workers refused to cross the
picket lines.
"Red Emma," a Portland activist, wrote, "The ship, the Cielo
di San Francisco, is operated by the Italia line. This is
basically the main shipping company for all of Italy. It
used to be a state-run monopoly, going all the way back to
the Mussolini era, but was privatized in 1998.
"Now, we know how privatization deals work. The deal goes to
somebody's crony, or whoever has greased the most palms. And
in fact, the guy who now runs the Italia line, a Mr.
D'Amico, is one of the biggest supporters (i.e. financial
backers) of the Berlusconi government.
"Italy is a maritime nation, and shipping is an even bigger
corporate interest there than it is here. Think of it as
sort of the equivalent of the oil industry here. If
international unions were striking a blow at the big oil
companies that backed Bush and Cheney, wouldn't that be a
powerful (and very appropriate) target?
"This action that we started here in Portland is now
traveling around the world. Picket lines are going to go up
in other cities, maybe other countries. Longshore locals in
other cities are going to think twice before unloading cargo
from the Italia line."
While the Portland protest prevented the ship from unloading
its cargo, the Oakland protest delayed the off-loading of
the ship by one day. The unity of both the dockworkers and
the anti-globalization activists was key to the success of
these actions.
One organizer called it a "tremendous victory and sends a
message to the Italian government that the brutalizing of
protesters and the murder of Carlo Giuliani at the hands of
the Italian state security forces and police will have real
consequences for Italy's trade with the U.S."
From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: maanantai 27. elokuu 2001 01:29
Subject: [WW] Texas court stays Beazley execution
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Aug. 30, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
Juvenile defendant
TEXAS COURT STAYS BEAZLEY EXECUTION
By Gloria Rubac
Houston
Napoleon Beazley, an African American who was 17 years old
when charged with capital murder, received a stay from
Texas' highest court on Aug. 15, just hours before he was to
become the 10th juvenile executed in Texas since executions
resumed here in 1982.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry had told the media the day before
Beazley's execution date that he had a 17-year-old son and
his son knew right from wrong.
"The governor's son wouldn't want to be tried by an all-
Black jury! He'd raise the roof on that! But my son had all
the Blacks struck off his jury," Napoleon Beaz ley's father
told Workers World.
Beazley's father, Ireland Beazley, said that there were a
lot of Black people on the jury panel but they were all
removed, including a college professor. "And I'll tell you
why: Most Blacks are against the death penalty. During voir
dire they were asked their opinions and they were honest.
They said that they could not give any defendant the death
penalty."
One reason of the 10 cited in Beazley's final appeal was
racism on the jury. "One juror flies a confederate flag in
her front yard and is a member of the Daughters of the
Confederacy. And the wife of another juror used the 'n' word
after the trial, saying 'The n----- got what he deserved!'
When she was asked about this, she said that this was her
husband's feeling, too," Beazley continued.
Speaking from their home in East Texas, which has
historically been known for its racism and Ku Klux Klan
activity, Ireland Beazley and his wife, Rena Beazley, both
agreed that there is a shift in opinion on the death
penalty.
"I think peoples' opinions are changing on the death
penalty. If there was an execution every four or five years,
probably no one would think a thing about it. But when
there's an assembly line of death like here in Texas, people
begin questioning. They ask why there're 30 and 40
executions a year. This high rate is turning off people to
the death penalty," Beazley said.
Both parents feel strongly that the prominence of the
victim's son--a federal judge in Virginia being considered
for the Supreme Court--played a key role in their son
getting the death penalty.
Family pleased by stay
Rena Beazley said she was elated when she got the news of a
stay. "We had a house full of people and I was in my robe
getting ready to get dressed and go to Huntsville to have a
prayer vigil. I felt like the whole roof had been raised--
there was such a weight taken off of us."
She said that the community of Grapeland, their hometown,
had gotten behind Napoleon. "Ours is a small community. The
schools are small. We all know each other and everyone
thought that Napoleon was a sweet boy. We have prayed
together and this support has strengthened us."
Napoleon Beazley's support didn't come just from Grapeland.
>From the Los Angeles Times to the Washington Post, from
Europe to Australia, from Amnesty International to the
NAACP, many around the world were aware Beazley's background
and record should have mitigated his sentence. He had an
exemplary childhood. Like his father before him, was elected
president of his senior class. He was a star football
player, a good student and he attended Sunday School.
Unfortunately, he went with two older friends on a
carjacking and a man was killed. It turned out that the
man's son was a powerful federal judge so connected in top
legal circles that three members of the U.S. Supreme Court
found it necessary to remove themselves from the decision
when the court was considering a stay of execution in the
case.
Beazley's original appeal attorney admits he was
ineffective. He did not even interview the two co-
defendants, who testified against Beasley in exchange for
lighter sentences. Both have since recanted.
Execution of juveniles
One major factor in Beazley's case receiving so much media
and becoming the focus for anti-death penalty groups
worldwide is that Beazley was a juvenile when the crime was
committed.
A study by Professor Victor Strieb of Ohio Northern
University found some firm patterns in the profiles of the
teenagers sent to death row.
All of the defendants were male and two-thirds were African
American or Latino. Two-thirds of their victims had been
white. Half the victims were women and more than a third of
the murders involved rape. The research highlighted the
racial and cultural problems that lie beneath the U.S.'s
crisis in violent teenage crime.
More and more, Professor Strieb's work has been used to
amplify the U.S.'s increasing international isolation on the
death penalty, as only three countries have executed
juveniles in the last four years.
Just over a year ago, another juvenile was executed in Texas-
-Shaka Sankofa. He was not only 17 when arrested, but was
likely innocent. His case, along with George Bush's
presidential election campaign, brought incredible attention
to the death penalty in Texas.
Bush's defense of Texas justice brought out criticism from
all fronts and the eyes of the world were on Texas. Most
Texas politicians were furious with the outside criticism,
but many of the people living here were embarrassed.
At the last session of the Texas legislature, many criminal
justice reforms passed, including improvement in legal
representation for the poor, DNA testing made more
available, and even a bill to stop executing the mentally
retarded. Bush's successor vetoed this bill after it had
passed both the Texas House and Senate.
Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement activist Njeri Shakur
told Workers World that "as world opinion shifts away from
the death penalty, Texas is feeling the ripples of this. The
movement to stop capital punishment is growing, despite an
uphill battle. Small victories are having a cumulative
effect. A campaign is underway to stop the horrific torture
on Texas death row and more and more Texans are favoring a
moratorium on executions. We do now see a light, however
faint, at the end of the tunnel,"
Beazley's family has been invited to speak at the Second
Annual March for a Moratorium on Oct. 27 at the Texas
capitol in Austin, and Beazley's mother said they would be
honored to be there.
From: "WW" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: maanantai 27. elokuu 2001 01:31
Subject: [WW] Milosevic counter-attacks NATO's court
-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Aug. 30, 2001
issue of Workers World newspaper
-------------------------
MILOSEVIC COUNTER-ATTACKS NATO'S COURT
By John Catalinotto
People from all over the world sent greetings and solidarity
to former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic on his 60th
birthday Aug. 20 at the prison near The Hague, Netherlands.
The greetings found the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS)
leader in a fight-back mood.
Just days before, Milosevic had filed a motion to the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) challenging its legitimacy to put him--or anyone else-
-on trial.
A wire service story called his motion a continuation of his
defiant stand before the ICTY in July at his first hearing.
They imply that the motion not only attacks the legitimacy
of the NATO and U.S.-created court, but exposes the crimes
of U.S. imperialism in the Balkans and elsewhere.
Milosevic is scheduled to be in court Aug. 30, where he will
represent himself before the ICTY. Former U.S. Attorney
General Ramsey Clark and other attorneys active with the
International Committee for the Defense of Slobodan
Milosevic (ICDSM) have assisted the SPS leader in preparing
his motions against the court's legitimacy.
Clark distinguished himself in the solidarity movement with
Yugoslavia by visiting Belgrade twice with a delegation from
the International Action Center while Yugoslavia was being
bombed by NATO. He is especially experienced in
international law and in confronting this U.S.-created
international tribunal.
Reports from Milosevic's supporters indicate that he is in
good spirits despite the attempt of the ICTY to keep him in
isolation the first six weeks after he was kidnapped from
Belgrade with the collusion of the Western puppets now
governing there.
On Aug. 14, a delegation of SPS members chosen by Milosevic
visited their president in The Hague. The delegation
conveyed to President Milosevic greetings, expressions of
solidarity and of moral and political support from SPS
members and supporters and from citizens of Yugoslavia, as
expressed in mass popular rallies in Belgrade and other
cities of Serbia and Yugoslavia and other meetings.
According to the SPS delegation, Milosevic "said that he
feels well, that his conscience is completely clean, that
everything he did as president of Serbia and Yugoslavia was
based on the Constitution, law and on legitimate interests
of the people and state. He especially underlined that he
organized resistance to NATO military aggression because it
was his main constitutional obligation as a head of State
and as a patriot."
FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER SPEAKS OUT
Vladislav Jovanovic, a former Yugoslav minister of foreign
affairs and chief of Yugoslavia's delegation in United
Nations at the time of NATO aggression, recently gave an
interview to Yugoslav journalist Tanja Djurovic, published
in the German daily Junge Welt in mid-August.
Jovanovic, who had spoken for Yugoslavia before the
International Action Center's June 10, 2000, final hearing
of the War Crimes Commission on U.S./NATO Crimes in
Yugoslavia, made some particularly clear comments about
Yugoslavia's current regime and the ICTY during this
interview. Some excerpts follow:
"This 'return' [of Yugoslavia to the 'international
community'] is nothing but rhetorical. True, Yugoslav
President Vojislav Kostunica and ruling Democratic
Opposition of Serbia (DOS) regard it as their own high
merit. ... But de-facto, this is nothing but a deliverance
of Yugoslavia to those international institutions.
"It is preceded first of all by the requirement to fulfill
without further ado all the conditions posed by the very
leading countries of the West that can take the most
'credit' for the breaking of Yugoslavia over a decade ago,
that imposed the sanctions against Yugoslavia and put it in
isolation--and finally, made an aggressive war against it
two years ago. ...
"In essence, and politically speaking, the Hague Tribunal
(ICTY) is a direct extension of the U.S. State Department,
and guided by it! ...The present Yugoslav government, by
delivering from its territory former President Milosevic,
violated the country's sovereignty in the most unacceptable
form.
"This is the most unprecedented act in the history of
Yugoslavia and Serbia, and the world as well: extradition of
an ex-president of one country to a very dubious court, not
to be held responsible for some of his acts, but to, through
his condemnation which is more than certain, condemn a whole
nation for genocide. We are speaking here about the
imposition of guilt to Serbian nation, stigmatizing for the
greatest crime against humanity there is.
"Therefore, the responsibility of DOS is enormous, not only
in the eye of Serbian people, but in the terms of world
history as well.
"The court holds Serbia responsible for all that happened in
the Balkans in the last decade--not secessionists or foreign
powers who supported them. The principle of 'individual
guilt' is not involved here. If it were, not only Milosevic
would be in Hague, but also other Balkan leaders, as well as
NATO leaders and officials.
"This is not just my opinion. A recent declaration of Gen.
Wesley Clark, commander of NATO during the war against
Yugoslavia, confirms that Milosevic's extradition to Hague
was necessary to eliminate the guilt of aggression from
NATO. Clark openly admitted that the extradition of his
opponent to Hague Tribunal justified finally the action of
North Atlantic alliance against Yugoslavia.
"There is no better evidence to show that NATO bombing was
illegal, criminal and so far with no justification, than to
admit that for this purpose the head of Milosevic was
needed."
